Human Brain, 3D model from MRI scans
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My wife is taking a neuroscience class, and so I looked for brain models. I stumbled on the Scalable Brain Atlas from the Netherlands. This site has brain scans of macaque, mouse and human, in which different labeled regions of the brain can be downloaded as 3D surfaces in .wrl (VRML) format.
Downloaded the full set for the human brain, and converted from .wrl to .3ds using MeshLab. The .3ds files were then imported into SketchUp 8 free, with each model named according to the model online, and then placed into a layer with its pair from the opposite hemisphere.
The result is a pretty nice, if a bit chunky looking, brain model in which different regions can be isolated by changing the visibility of different layers. This, combined with SketchUp's Section Plane tool and Color by Layers option makes for a potentially very useful model.
Following the label at the Scalable Brain Atlas site, the model is called Human_LPBA40_LoRes_BrainAtlas. I emailed the contact person at the Scalable Brain Atlas site to ask for permission to make this model public, and he gave me some attribution information to add. These are in the model description, and are included in the model file itself.
I hope this is of use to neuroscientists and students.
Note: I am told that the Hippocampus component is not correct (lacking part of its arch), and the Amygdala is missing. I'll have to see if I can find them.
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Oh, man.
I could sure use a scalable brain, preferably an upscaleable one. -
VERY NICE OF YOU..Thank you...Had no idea the brain had so many colors...
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Yes, the brain is very colorful, but as soon as it is exposed to air, it reverts to a uniform grey color.
Or, maybe that's the "color by layer" effect at work?
I truly didn't think about that when I uploaded the model. I guess a colorful brain is kind of strange.
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